Team USA Scholarship

Oliver Askew and Kyle Kirkwood continued their impressive form this morning during their Semi Final race to cement positions on the starting grid for this afternoon's 45th edition of the famed Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch. Perfect weather conditions once again greeted the 64 contenders as they were split into a pair of Semi Final races. After lining up fourth and ninth, respectively, for...

Team USA Scholarship drivers Oliver Askew ( leading, above ) and Kyle Kirkwood today enjoyed a strong start to the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch, with Askew finishing on the podium and Kirkwood taking fifth in their respective heat races. The 66-car field was divided into three heat races with Askew drawn in Heat Two and Kirkwood in Heat Three. Qualifying this morning saw Askew post the t...

Kyle Kirkwood ( left, above ) and Oliver Askew have turned competitive lap times in pre-event testing and feel well-prepared to make their European car racing debuts in this weekend's 45th annual Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch. The childhood friends and long-time karting rivals from Jupiter, Fla., will carry the patriotic red, white and blue Team USA Scholarship colors on their pair of Ray...

Over the past few months, the appropriate definition of being successful has haunted me. Typically in the racing community one can define success by setting a fastest lap or winning a race and/or a championship. But where do you find the encouragement when the results aren't there to back it up? After a mediocre (in terms of results) yet very informative year with RJB Motorsports and missing the ...

The latest update from Team USA Scholarship driver Kyle Kirkwood as preparations continue for this weekend's 45th annual BRSCC Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch. It's been just over a week now since we first arrived in London and I think we are finally getting the hang of it. The hardest part about this trip so far has been the traveling, which we now realize is the easiest part! Day two we s...

Oliver Askew brings us up to speed at the end of his first week in the U.K. for the Team USA Scholarship, which included initial shakedown tests with Cliff Dempsey Racing at Silverstone National and the Rockingham infield road course. Learn more at TeamUSAScholarship.org. We arrived at London Heathrow Airport on Tuesday morning. Both Kyle (Kirkwood) and I were able to get some rest while on the r...

My racing career started when I was nearly 5 years old. Honestly, it doesn't seem like that long ago! My father, who had no knowledge of motorsports, decided to have a family outing at a local track west of where we lived in Florida. Moroso Motorsports Park, a multi-use facility with a drag strip, a road course and a kart track, was where my first taste of racing took place. Our adventure of watc...

For 26 years, competitors, media and fans alike have become accustomed to witnessing each new crop of Team USA Scholarship drivers as they exhibit their skills on an international stage â usually for the first time during their fledgling careers. The Team USA cars always have been instantly recognizable by their eye-catching stars-and-stripes livery. Equally, the drivers have stood out from the c...

Oliver Askew ( pictured, left ), 19, and Kyle Kirkwood ( right ), 17, who, coincidentally, both hail from Jupiter, Fla., were confirmed today as the most recent winners of prestigious Team USA Scholarships. The long-time friends and karting rivals will travel to England next month to contest both the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch and the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone. The Team USA pr...

An illustrious group of auto racing professionals, led by Indianapolis 500 winner Gil de Ferran, will join forces later this week to select a pair of talented young American race car drivers who will be invited to travel to England next month to compete in both the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch and the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone. The two winners will be chosen from six finalists w...

Six finalists for this year's Team USA Scholarship will be put through their paces during a one-day shootout later this month hosted by Cooper Tires and the Lucas Oil School of Racing at Palm Beach International Raceway in Jupiter, Fla. The day also will include a fitness element conducted by Jim Leo of Indianapolis-based PitFit Training. The Team USA Scholarship originated in 1990 when a young J...

Team USA Scholarship alumni Dakota Dickerson drives for the Afterburner Autosport team in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. As June was coming to an end, the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda took us to Road America, one of only two tracks on the schedule that I had visited before. Up until this point our season was not going as we had hoped, but we â thatâs...

A racing season â a short, full-throttle, no-holds-barred, unexpected, somewhat controllable ride to remember. With so many people, places and opportunities, it's a true challenge of self confidence and trust in others. My time with RJB Motorsports and the entire Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires in 2016 has opened my eyes and gifted me with my first proper professional season in motor...

The hidden beauty behind learning how to maximize our opportunities continues to define the character of myself and the RJB Motorsports team. Having competed in three of the four race weekends of the 2016 Cooper Tire USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, we find ourselves achieving a greater understanding for the task and goals at hand. Rounds Three and Four at Barber Motorsports Park in late Ap...